Modeled on the Torre del Mangia in
Siena, Italy, the granite tower on a hill
in the center of Provincetown (map) is
252.5 feet (77 meters) high. The cornerstone
was laid in 1907 with President
Teddy Roosevelt in
attendance, and the structure was completed
three years later, when President
Taft did the dedicating.

How do visitors get to the top to
enjoy the view? Well, there's no
elevator, so you c-l-i-m-b,
the equivalent of climbing to the top of
a 20-story building.

Most of the climb is on a ramp,
not steps, and you can take your time and
read the commemorative plaques from New
England cities, towns, and civic groups
which line the granite walls. The
view is worth the climb: Provincetown and all Cape
Cod spread out like the maps
you've been following.

The Provincetown Museum is
an interesting potpourri of old firefighting
gear, costumes, a whaling ship captain's
quarters on board, primitive portraits,
World War I mementos, arctic lore, and
a sequence of displays on the activities
of the Pilgrims in Provincetown, for this
is the first place they touched land in
the New World.

After seeing these you can continue with
the Wedgwood, model of a Thai temple, antique
dolls, and other arcana.